Game of Thrones: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Backs Jaime Killing Cersei Fan Theory
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has thrown his support behind the popular Game of Thrones theory that suggests Jaime Lannister is destined to kill his twin sister Cersei. The explosive finale of season 6 saw Cersei Lannister rise to power through blood and fire, but even actor Lena Headey doesn’t think the new queen is long for the Iron Throne. While a recent batch of promotional images from season 7 featured Cersei on the throne with her vigilant twin brother alongside her, a long-standing fan theory about Cersei’s prophesized downfall is starting to gain more traction than ever.
The idea that Jaime might be the one to end his sister’s reign of terror has been brewing for a long time, but now Jamie Lannister himself, or rather actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, has waded into the fray to give his verdict on the prophecy which states that Cersei’s “little brother” will be her undoing.
Waldau discussed the idea with Mashable, going into the neat symmetry of the fan theory:
Quote:
“I mean I don’t think he — I’m just saying it’s a valid theory. I can see it makes sense, it has a beautiful — it’s a nice circle [that] they are born together in the womb and then he kills her at the end…It makes sense.”
He also touched upon the ironic resemblance to Jaime Lanister’s betrayal and execution of the Mad King Aerys, though was quick to point out that this thematic similarity might not sit well with the character’s progression thus far:
“You could say that could — that the motivation for doing that would be the same for killing Cersei, but I haven’t seen anything yet before Season 7 that would make me believe that he was capable of doing that.”
Jaime Lannister has walked a difficult road with fans, beginning the series as a widely despised villain before the Kingslayer was humanized during a redemptive journey. This path was derailed somewhat by a divisive reunion with his sister, and the subsequent rape scene remains one of the most controversial moments in the show.
Still, the Game of Thrones show-runners have attempted to keep fans on team-Jaime, most recently breaking the hearts of fans when the acceptance of his estranged daughter Myrcella was snatched away by her untimely assassination. Cersei Lannister, on the other hand, has always been one of those characters that fans love to hate, admiring and deploring her actions in equal measure. Her recent genocidal tendencies have certainly earned her a well-deserved, signature Game of Thrones death.
There’s nobody better to mete that out than her beloved brother Jaime. The prophecy introduced at the beginning of season 5 suggested that Cersei’s “little brother” would “wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you“. Cersei’s belief that Tyrion would be her downfall was actually responsible for much of her reprehensible treatment of everyone’s favorite dwarf. Yet George R.R. Martin was sure to inform fans that, while Cersei and Jaime are twins, Jaime was born after his sister. The irony inherent in that would certainly be characteristic of the story being, and it also ties in with a recent trend of actually delivering on long-standing theories. Yet, this is Game of Thrones, and nothing is a given in Westeros.
[Screen Rant]
